Serpents lair
by AthosionWarrior
Summary: When a marine base is attacked, and the secrets they were holding stolen, the team are sent to the Congo to investigate, but everything does not go as planed.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The serpent's lair  
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**Summery: When a marine base is attacked, and the secrets they were holding stolen, the team are sent to the Congo to investigate, but everything does not go as planed.  
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**Warnings: Violent scenes, Abuse, drugs, and bad language**

**Disclaimer: Story is mine as are the made up characters but I do not in anyway own NCIS**

**Please leave a review**

**I need a beta so if anyone is interested please contact me. This is a rewrite. **

**Just tell me if there are any mistakes. sorry its a bit short for the first chapter, more to come soon. please review**

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><p>Chapter one<p>

Agent Timothy McGee sighed as he brushed his collar free of snow, his black jacket now white from the snow that had covered him with a thick fluffy coating. Taking off his gloves, he placed them on the heater, then wrestling his wet coat from his shoulder's, he sat down, leaving it to dry on a hook.

He was surprised to see the bullpen virtually empty, only a few people sitting in front of their computers, their own coats dripping wet behind them, and their gloves on the many heaters scattered round the room.

Glancing out the window as he waited for his computer to load, he watched the large snowflakes fall ever so gracefully onto the windowsill, smiling as the ding of the elevator announced the arrival of his female friend, on time as always.

Turning his head slightly, he tried not to laugh at the sight that greeted him, stifling back a chuckle when a certain Ziva David stepped out into the warm bullpen, her hat, coat, trousers and shoes covered in the white snow that had seemed to have been falling for days.

McGee inclined his head to the side as Ziva made a strange gurgled noise as she wiped her snow covered face followed by a high pitched "Brrrr!"

Stamping her feet free of snow, taking her gloves off and removing her black now white winter hat, she made her way towards her desk and placed them on the hook.

"Morning Ziva." McGee chirped happily, the Israeli turned on her heel, smiling brightly.

"Good morning McGee." She greeted as she took a seat and booted her computer. Rubbing her hands together she whispered something in Hebrew, then shivered. McGee smiled slightly.

"Cold?" he asked with an amused tone, Ziva glared at him.

"I am from the desert McGee, I do not like snow…" McGee smiled again, then glanced back at his computer, opening the mail icon that flashed annoyingly on his screen.

It had only been ten minutes before Special Agent Tony DiNozzo stumbled through the elevator doors, a frown on his face that could kill. Marching towards his desk he threw down his coat and fell into his chair.

"Something wrong Tony?" Ziva asked, amused, Tim smiled too, not wanting to miss his chance to mess with the Very Special Agent .

"Date gone bad," McGee asked. "Find out she was actually a he, couldn't keep you food down, couldn't get it up?" McGee listed, DiNozzo's head shot up, his frown turning into a glare.

"I can get it up just fine Probie."

"Get what up?" Ziva suddenly asked, the two male agents turned to look at her, then Tony looked down slightly. Ziva followed his gaze, realisation crossing her face.

"Ohhh…"

Tony shook his head at his partners confusion, a small smile on his face. He glanced round, then frowned.

"Where's the boss?" he asked with a frown.

"Right here DiNozzo" Gibbs voice answered from behind him, he wore his usual beige suit and neatly ironed white shirt. He carried with him a cup of coffee and headed towards the stairs.

"Ziva, Directors office, now!" he shouted angrily. Ziva stood from her seat and awkwardly made her way upstairs.

"Ziva's in trouble…"DiNozzo sung from his desk, smiling once again. The Israeli glared at him.

xxxx

When Ziva walked through the door of the Directors office, she had to resist the urge to turn and runaway. Gibbs stood behind her, his hand on her back guiding her into the room and making her feel slightly more comfortable, but no less angry. Vance sat behind his desk, a glass half full of a golden brown liquid in his hand, and a man sat opposite him.

"Ziva," he greeted with a nod, standing up and straightening his grey suite. Ziva swallowed down the harsh comment that threatened to roll off her tongue and composed her self, tightening her back and wearing a passive expression.

"Director David." She greeted professionally, she couldn't help the little smirk when his own smile faulted slightly, a deep frown contorting his forehead.

Sensing the tension, Gibbs stepped in-between the father and daughter and started to speak.

"Now that we are all here, we can start"

"Start what?" Ziva asked, her and her father still glaring at each other from across the room.

"The navel base situated in the Republic of Congo was attacked thee days ago, as you know from your Mossad days. The base consisted of more then one hundred US Marines and forty Israel soldiers and Mossad officers. There were only twenty survivors. Eighteen of them being American. Files were stolen, important files, on both Mossed and NCIS" Vance finished. Ziva turned her gaze towards the American director, her eyes softening.

"And you are telling me this because…" she asked.

"We believe the bomber may have been connected to the 9/11 bombings, and a bombing in Israel ten years ago" Director Vance paused and glanced down at the floor. "The one that killed your sister Ziva"

Ziva's jaw twitched in anger.

"Now your father tells me that you have had experience with the particular cell, that was connected to the bombings. That you...lets just say, 'took care of them" Vance said.

"Yes"

"Well looks like their back in business, and there planning something"

"How do you know its the same cell?" Ziva asked.

"Mossad captured one of the attackers and 'convinced' him to tell them everything we needed to know."

"You mean they tortured him" Ziva turned to her father, saying the words with such a emotionless tone it made Gibbs shiver slightly.

"Don't act so innocent Ziva" her father shot back,

The two David's glared at each other, than Ziva turned to Director Vance.

"What can I do?"

"You will be leading a team of Mossad agents and-"

"I am no longer Mossad Director!" Her father looked up angrily at her tone of voice "Or did you forget?"

"You will always be Mossad Ziva!" Eli clenched his jaw "but you will not be going in as Mossad…"

Eli lifted a suit case from the side of the chair, then lay it on the table, lifting the lid. Inside lay a olive green uniform and a pair of dog tags.

You will be going in as Sgan'aluf David." Gibbs said with a smile. "DiNozzo, and I will be right beside you."

Ziva glanced back down, her eyes fixed on the uniform she had not worn for over ten years. She sighed and glanced up.

"When do we leave"

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><p><strong>Please leave a review<strong>

**Sgan'aluf - Lieutenant Colonel of the Israeli army**

**Now a few things to clear up, I know it might be hard to think of Ziva as a colonel, since she is pretty young still and she would have been even younger when she would have been the colonel, but there was no way I could have written this story if she was lower ranking.**

**Also if anyone knows the name of the hats the IDF wear? (Not the ones that look like flattened chef hats but the one they where for occasions, you will be very helpful) I hope you continue to read as this will get a lot more exiting. Thanks guys. Next update will be soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Guys, here is the next chapter of Serpents lair. i hope you enjoy this chapter sorry it took so long to write.**

**Please review and tell me what you think**

**Sorry to keep posting this guys but the format keeps going all funny, last time i post promice! xx**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Agent DiNozzo sat uncomfortably in his seat, shifting every so often in the airport waiting area, his bags were thrown on to the nearest seat beside him and his coat draped over the back of the rather uncomfortable seat he currently sat on.

They had arrived at the airport at 0500 that morning, and despite having plenty of sleep the night before, his eyes seemed to drop every few minuets, his head lolling back in a desperate attempt to get some rest. Running his hands through his hair, he yawned before looking around.

Gibbs stood with his bags at his feet, a coffee in his hand. Both directors stood a few feet away from him, both conversing quietly. His gaze fell to Eli, his blood boiling at the very sight of him.

Breathing deeply he relaxed into his chair and closed his eyes.

A loud noise of yet another plane taking off made his eyes open swiftly, making him jump from his seat. He glanced at the clock. 0800.

He sighed and glanced at his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time, then glanced towards the airport bathrooms. Ziva had disappeared more then twenty minuets ago. He had been wandering for the past ten minuets, what was taking her so long.

xxx

Ziva sighed as she looked at her self in the mirror, smoothing down her uniform and fixing the Green Beret that sat on her head, her fingers running over the freshly polished star insignia.

Standing tall she stared intently at her mirror image, straightening the collar of her uniform once again. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her dog tags, running her thumb over the written letters on the shining metal. Strangely there was an extra dog tag on the chain, one that had been scratched badly on the service, taking one look at the silver tag she sighed before slipping the tags over her neck and tucking them into her collar.

When she arrived back in the waiting room, her bag slung over her shoulder, she watched through the large window as yet another plane took off. Slowing her pace, she didn't stop till she was beside Gibbs.

"Feel good to be back in the uniform?" he asked, not looking at her. She shrugged.

"I do not know yet." she dropped her bag by her feet. "When does our plane leave?"

"When everybody gets here."

"Everybody?" Ziva asked with a confused expression, her question was answered when a deep voice called from behind her.

"Long time no see Ziva." she turned to come face to face with a man she had grown to hate.

"Hardar…what are you doing here?"

The man's smile tightened, taking a step forward, looking down on Ziva, his breath hot on her face.

"My Job is to make sure you do your job and you stay out of trouble." Ziva shook her head at his words, biting her tongue. He smiled then pushed passed Ziva. "Better hurry up David. Our flight leaves in five minutes"

Tony leaned his head against the wall of the plane, closing his eyes and listening to the sounds around him. The plane had been quiet, apart from the buzz of the engine and the almost mute voices that muttered to each other every so often, the voices normally belonging to Director David and his trusty bodyguard Hardar.

Gibbs was asleep opposite him and Ziva sat on her own the other side of the plane, lost in thought as she fiddled with the dog tags around her neck, he frowned as he watched her, her eyes glassy.

"So Ziva, how long you were in the IDF for?" Tony asked, breaking the silence. Ziva looked up.

"Six years. I joined when I was sixteen, I did not want to wait for my call up. My commanding officer said I was a natural, climbed up the ranks pretty fast." Ziva said softly as she gazed down at the dog tag she played with in her hand. Unlike the other two, the dog tag was scratched and slightly rusted round the edges; Tony could see the faint outline of Hebrew etched across it.

"What's with the dog tag…its different from the other two?" Tony asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Ziva's eyes became glassy again, her pupils unfocused and staring at a invisible speck on the floor of the aircraft

_She reached out and carefully removed the tag from her friends neck, the sound of gunfire still heard a distance behind her. The distinctive smell of gunpowder still lingered in the air and on her clothes, staining her hands with an invisible ink. She held the damaged dog tag in her hand, the metal still hot from the flames that ate away at it only minutes before._

_She closed her hand tightly round the metal and ignored the burning pain in her palm. The sound of marching brought her attention back to her situation and she quickly attached the tag to her chain and lifted her rifle, running away from the solders that quickly approached her._

"Ziva?" Tony's voice brought her out of her daydream and she realized that she had not yet answered his question.

"What is the dog tag for?" he asked again, Ziva sighed.

"It's not important Tony."

The moment the plane touched down, Ziva was out of her seat and waiting by the door, removing her jacket as she walked out into the hot humid air, she slung it over her shoulder and walked down the ramp.

xxxx

She looked round at her surroundings, a dense forest full of tall trees and overgrown foliage, the only thing she could see for miles, along with a dusty runway that seemed to have gone unused for years.

To the right was a small opening in the trees, flattened leaves and broken tree branches were scattered along with heavy tire tracks in the dirt Ziva believed it was a heavy traffic area for military vehicles.

The sun beat down on her skin and she feel she had already developed a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead, only now finding that both Gibbs and Tony stood beside her, Gibbs jacket also thrown over his shoulder and Tony's wrapped around his waist.

Eli walked towards them, Hardar following closely by his side.

"What is your father doing here Ziva?" Tony whispered in her ear. "Surely he would prefer to be behind a desk where he is nice and safe?"

"He will be Tony, As soon as we are at the base a helicopter will take him to the capital, he will help us from the Israeli embassy located in the city."

The distinctive sound of a car engine made Tony look up, seeing a military truck with an open back break through the trees, two armed men sat in the back, both carrying with them Special Force issue M9 rifles.

The truck came to a stop in front of them and the two men jumped from the back, the driver turned off the engine and jumped out from the drivers seat, lighting a cigarette.

"Let me do the talking Ziva," Eli said in Ziva's ear and stepped forward, straightening his suit.

"Hernandez," Eli greeted. "This is agents Gibbs and DiNozzo and this is my daughter Ziva, she is the one that will be leading the teams in this investigation"

He looked over Eli's shoulder at Ziva than back at Eli.

"She is a women?"

"She gets the job done and she is good at what she does," Eli said, Ziva smiled slightly at the compliment. Hernadez snorted then inclined his head towards the truck, Hardar and Eli started walking towards it first, Hardar helping Eli in to the passenger's seat before closing the door and jumping into the back. Gibbs and Tony followed the two other solders as they walked towards the truck and jumped on the back after Hardar.

Hernadez stared at Ziva and moved his cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other, he moved to the side and inclined with his hand.

"After you." he said with a sly smile. Ziva forced a smile back than continued towards the truck.

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><p><strong>So what you think?<strong>

**I would like to thank all those who reviewed the first chapter. Verry please you like this story, next chapter will be up very soon :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. I am soooo sorry this is so late i have been rely busy with college performances and end of year work. I have already started to write the next chapter so it wont be so long till the next chapter is up.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry if it is a bit short.**

**Please leave a review.**

**xx**

When they had arrived at the base, Ziva's jaw dropped in surprise, anger evident on her face. The base was filled with more than 100 deceased soldiers; situated deep within the Congo rainforests had been utterly decimated.

The first thing she noticed was not the large bits of debris that lay scatted around a crumbling, destroyed building, or the trees, naked of their leaves due to the blast of a bomb and the burning fire that followed. But is was the rows and rows of body bags that lay morbidly in front of the crumbling base, filled with over a hundred dead solders

The sky was still dark with smoke and she could still smell the distinctive odour of burnt flesh. She shook her head and jumped off the back of the truck, followed by Gibbs, Tony and the two solders.

Hardar was the last to jump off, running to the side of the truck and opening the passenger door for Eli, who upon getting out of the truck, stared open mouthed at the destruction before him.

"Oh lord…" he said under his breath. He closed the door behind him, his eyes wide and his mouth still agape.

"The lord had nothing to do with this Director." said a voice, Eli looked up and so did Ziva Gibbs and Tony. A man in a Marine Corps colonels outfit walked towards them.

"Colonel Harry Colton, I am in charge of the marines here…or what's left of them sir."

Ziva watched the Colonel as he introduced himself and sighed. She could tell he was a red throat from a mile away…or was it a redneck she thought to herself.

Colton glanced at Gibbs.

"I suspect you are the one that is leading the team sir?" he asked. Gibbs shook his head and motioned towards Ziva.

"Nope, she is."

Colton looked over Gibbs shoulder and his smile faulted.

"But you're a-"

"Women?" Ziva interrupted and rolled her eyes "you are very observant colonel, but like it or not I will be leading this team, now throw you backward views out the window and debrief me on the situation. I don't have all day."

Ziva smiled as she took in the Colonels expression, having probably never had a women talk to him like that, Ziva thought he looked like someone had just slapped him with a wet dead fish.

"Ahh... Right. At approximately 18:00 three days ago, there was an explosion in west wing of the base; I guess who ever did this was counting on the secondary explosions from the 16 vehicles parked outside to take out the rest of the base. Important files were stolen, as well as a great deal of weapons that could easily arm at least fifty people."

"Do you have any leads as to who did this Colonel?"

"No ma'am but we have managed to determine that there is a mole inside the base, someone helped whoever did this infiltrate this base, get what they wanted and got them out."

"Do you know who?" Ziva asked. Colton shook his head.

"No ma'am, but we have managed to narrow it down. Those who escaped fled to a nearby village, the team you will be leading has been asked to meet you at the local bar, and we believe one of them is the mole."

"And you want us to figure out who, right?" Gibbs said in a matter a fact tone. Colton glared at Gibbs.

"That is correct Agent Gibbs, secrets were stolen from this base, important secrets that could threaten the safety of all countries involved."

"What secrets." Ziva asked.

"That's classified." Colton said, Ziva sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Of course it is" Gibbs shook his head side to side. Beside him Ziva sighed.

"Ok, I am going to need a truck to take us to the village we will check in every five hours. Hardar I need you to make sure my father gets to where he has to be safe and sound,"

Hardar scoffed. Ziva turned to glare at him.

"Is there a problem?"

"You don't leave my sight, my job is not just to protect your father, its also to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"And you can do that once you have seen my father safely to where he is going…if he is harmed in anyway; if your ambushed, even if he gets a paper cut…I will personally hold you responsible and take the course of action I was raised to take." Hardar flinched slightly at her threat. "Do I make myself clear?"

Hardar nodded slowly and turned to Eli, his sensitive ears picking up the sound of a chopper.

With that, Ziva sighed and clicked her neck. A habit she thought she had gotten out of ever since leaving Mossad.

"Let's go" she said to no body in particular than turned and walked towards a truck, followed by the two soldiers, Gibbs and Tony.

**xxx**

**Well hope you enjoyed it, i know this chapter was kind of a filler chapter so you know what going on and everything. The next chapter will have action and some head scratching moments.**

**Next chapter up soon**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, this is the last time i post this chapter lol sorry for posting it three times but i needed to rework it again and now i finely found the time. the next chapter will be up soon as soon as i get some reviews so i know people are reading, sorry the updates have been few and far apart but i am also busy working on a few independent books of my own i am trying to get published **

**Please review**

**xxxx**

Tony sniffed the air as he wandered through the small village, the smell of sewage mixed with fish and another smell that Tony couldn't quite put his finger on, invaded his nostrils. Gibbs walked beside him, his jacket still slung over his shoulder, a red tint already blemishing his aged face.

Ziva walked in front of the two men, her weapon held loosely in her hands as she scanned the village and the people around her. Tony could see she was completely focused on her mission, the look in her eyes seeming to be determined and hard.

The buildings that surrounded the village were simple stone or brick with thatched roofs, and as they made their way down the dusty road, and towards the crumbling brick building at the end, DiNozzo could have sworn that the eyes of the villagers followed them as they went.

As they reached the small brick building, they could hear the distinctive sound of chatter inside, the locals having a drink after a hard days work either fishing or harvesting crops, pushing the wooden door open with one hand, Ziva surveyed the tiny building for the soldiers.

"At the bar." She said over her shoulder and walked in, ignoring the glare of the couple that sat to her right.

Four soldiers sat at the bar, three of them dressed as United States marines the forth being a woman was dressed in a typical Israeli olive uniform.

Ziva cleared her throat as she approached and one by one the soldiers turned round.

The two soldiers that sat on her left were obviously brothers, the same last name of Hogan stitched onto their uniforms. Their military buzz cuts looked fresh and almost made the two men look like twins. The man that sat next to them was of middle eastern decent, dark skin merging with even darker eyes and a handsome smile, his black curly hair reminded her of Michael Rivkin.

She than turned her attention to the women who gazed at her with a amazed expression, Ziva smiled at the women, recognizing the long black curls, green eyes and cheeky smile anywhere.

"Zi?" she spoke, her accent heavy, Ziva's smile got wider as the women jumped off her seat, wrapping her arms round her with a happy squeal.

"Natalie,"

The two women hugged each other tightly only pulling apart when Tony cleared his throat behind them.

"Care to introduce us Ziva?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Tony, Gibbs this is Natalie, we have known each other since we were ten years old, we served together in the IDF and refused to follow orders unless we were put in the same unit."

The two women smiled cheekily at each other.

"And the other two?" Gibbs spoke for the first time since arriving in the village, Natalie looked back at her own team mates.

"This is Major Drake Hogan. he is a marine Marksmen he is cocky as hell but he gets the job done, and this is Sie'ed Are'al he is our linguist but has been trained in infantry as well."

"And you, what do you do?" Gibbs asked the other brother.

"I am the explosives expert sir. Names Collin"

Before Gibbs could open his mouth to say something further, the distinctive sound of gunfire boomed from outside. Ziva frowned and lifted her gun instinctively in front of her. As she cautiously made her way towards the window she peered out and sighed.

"What is it Zi?" Natalie asked already loading her assault rifle.

"Rebels,"

Suddenly a metallic object smashed through the window next to Ziva and fell to the floor with a metallic clink, Ziva's eyes widened as she realized what it was.

"Everybody get out!" Natalie yelled as a white gas started to fill the small building.

As they reached the outside more than ten rebel solders ransacked the village, each and everyone with them carrying a AK47 in their hands.

Natalie and Ziva looked at each other, than smiled cheekily, they both raised their guns, ready for a fight.

"Two hundred shekel says I take down more than you." Natalie said with a smirk. Ziva chuckled.

"You're on."

xxxxx

Abby bounced up and down as she listened to the guitar solo blast out from her stereo, her pig tails bouncing along with her as she danced. McGee sat at the far table with a fancy laptop in front of him, a coffee cooling on his left and a half eaten nutter butter laying without a wrapper on the table, creating sticky blemishes across the glass.

He was a bit saddened about not being able to go on the mission with Tony, Ziva and Gibbs, needed a chance to finely prove himself that he was not just a Probie as Tony was forever calling him, but he also found himself breathing sighs of relief that he had stayed in DC with the many comforts he would find difficult to not have if he were in the Congo.

Looking at his computer screen, he frowned as a message with the name, Urgent blinked on his screen, over the blaring of Abby's music he barely heard the beep when he received it.

Taking a long gulp from his coffee he opened the email and almost chocked when he saw what the message said.

"Abby...Abby...Abby!" he shouted, Abby turned round with a glare.

"What McGee!" she said and turned her music down.

"Its Ziva father...his helicopter was shot down." He looked at the email again.

"The pilot is dead, Hardar was injured, but the director is missing."

Abby and McGee stared opened mouthed at the Email

."We got to tell Gibbs."

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><p><strong>Like it hate it? tell me what you think. hope you liked it :) just tell me of there are anymore mistakes, i think i fixed them all but i might not have. tell me what you think! xx <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hey guys. How are you enjoying your holidays! i had a bit of trouble writing this chapter. Please review :)

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><p>Ziva David raced for cover as a hale of bullets disintegrated everything they touched. Falling to the floor and sliding behind a large cart that was filled with hay. She ignored the bullets that embedded themselves into the front of the crate and quickly checked her rifle, loaded and shot over the crate, smirking as two of the rebels fell to the floor, a bullet piecing their chests.<p>

A sudden explosion made Ziva fall to the floor, her rifle flying from her hands and in a unknown direction. She covered her face as a hale of rubble, glass and wood flew at her, pounding her body. Strong hands grabbed her by her shoulders and she instantly struck out with her left leg. Suddenly feeling a sharp pain run down her leg she cried out in pain, grabbing her leg as she hit the floor.

Looking down her eyes widened as she spotted a thin six inch bit of wood sticking from her thigh, Ziva gritted her teeth as she grabbed the wood, put pressure on the wound and pulled, glad that the wood missed all major arteries. Pulling a role of bandage from her breast pocket she wrapped the white material tightly round her thigh than threw the wood aside, Ziva drew the 9 mill that rested on her right leg than shakily got to her feet.

"Ziva, watch out!" she heard Gibbs yell from behind her, she turned as a tall well muscled man ran towards her with a knife, but before he could reach her, a flash of silver flew through the air and embedded itself in the mans throat. He fell to the floor and did not move again. Ziva looked to the right and smiled as she saw Sie'ed a few feet away from her.

"Nice throw. Thanks" Ziva said, Sie'ed casually walked over to the dead rebel and pulled the knife from his throat, wiping the excess blood off with a piece of the mans clothing.

"You are welcome boss." Sie'ed said with a smirk. Behind Ziva, Sie'ed saw the man with the grey hair kill another two soldiers. He looked back at Ziva. "I guess its all over, for now" he said than looked down at her leg. "You should have that looked at." Ziva looked down at her leg, frowning at the white bandage that was now stained red.

"It's just a scratch," she smiled, Sie'ed chuckled and started towards Gibbs, Tony and the brothers, Natalie was no where to be seen, Ziva limped slightly along side Sie'ed.

"Where is Natalie?" Sie'ed asked. Tony shrugged his shoulders.

"She disappeared through the trees after the shooting started."

Ziva looked around at the village, the bodies of the rebels lay on the dusty floor, along with a few locals that also lay dead, sprawled across the floor with their family mourning at their sides. A women knelt by a man that was covered in dirt and blood, two bullet holes in his chest. She screamed to anyone that would listen, her hands desperately clutching at the young man, as if by some miracle he would come back to life. Ziva sighed at the sight.

"What do you need us to do next boss?" Sie'ed looked at Ziva with a questioning gaze. The ex Israeli thought for a minute.

"Search the rebel's body's for ammo, information anything to tell us where they came from or why they were here. These guys weren't just any militia, they were after something."

"Your not doing anything until you get that leg looked at," Gibbs said to Ziva. Ziva sighed but nodded her head.

"The Hogan brothers and I will search around for any information on these guys, Sie'ed I want Ziva's leg properly cleaned and wrapped. " Gibbs turned to Tony and stepped closer to him. "Find Natalie, she could be the mole we can't let anyone of these people out of our sight. Be discrete about it."

"Sure thing boss."Gibbs looked across to the Hogan brothers, than to Sie'ed, who had already started dressing Ziva's leg. He watched as DiNozzo disappeared into the dense trees and green of the forest, not so discreetly. Gibbs rubbed at his shoulder that was beginning to ache and sighed.

Xxxx

Ever since Tony was a child, he has hated woods, he hated that he could get lost easily, he hated the smell of trees and dirt and he hated the fact that there was no indoor plumbing if he ever needed to go, but the thing he hated most, was the bugs.

Small bugs, big bugs, green bugs, yellow bugs, bugs that look like plants but just turn out to be...well bugs. "Were is Mcgeek when you need him," Tony muttered to over a large root that stuck from the ground, DiNozzo called out for Natalie and hearing no response, sighed and swatted some hanging vines that hung in-front of his face. He stopped when he heard the faint but distinct sound of voices, crouching down slightly and avoiding anything that would make a noise as he tread he made his way towards steep dirt hill and stopped.

"I don't like going behind my teams back." He heard, the voice was defiantly Natalie's. Another voice answered her; strong and demanding but seductive and arousing all the same. Tony always found British accent sexy.

"I don't care about your conscience. You were hired to do a job and we expect you to do it. Do not disappoint me again. You will get your money when the job is done." Tony frowned and peered over the top of the mound drawing his gun, seeing Natalie, talking to a tall and attractive blond woman. A truck rested a few feet away from them, the engine still running with a low hum, one armed man stood by the driver's seat door and another next to the mysteries women.

"You know how to contact me. If the job is not done with in the next 72 hours I will send someone else to take care of it...and take care of you. I can not afford any lose end"

"Yes Ma'am. The job will get done. You have my word." Tony watched as the women retreated towards the car and waited until the truck had pulled away and disappeared into the forest, making a beeline for the trees that hung down and created a small hidden shelter.

The special agent waited as Natalie made her way over the mound and back to the village before stopping at a small moss covered rock, pulling a device that looked much like a radio from her breast pocket, she placed it under a few bits of broken twigs and dried leaves. She sighed deeply, than disappeared towards the village.

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><p><strong>Have already started writing the next chapter so that should be up very soon. hope you enjoyed guys and hope you review, tell me what you think cause i am a bit lost on ideas. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, long time no see or read. Sorry it has taken like over a year to publish this, I kinda lost interest in the whole writing thing, my muse totally left me, also I have been ill over the last year and a half and haven't been able to do much. Any way hope you enjoy, please leave a review. **

Chapter four

Ziva looked out across the lake and towards the bright orange sun that was slowly setting behind the trees, her dark eyes following a few ripples in the water as she played with a soft pebble between her fingers.

Brushing her hair behind her ear, she skipped the stone across the water's surface and smiled slightly as a few droplets sprayed back onto her skin, cooling it with a welcomed sensation.

Even though the sun was setting the climate of the Congo was still humid and hot, causing beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Mind if I join you" She heard from behind her, she smiled, not even turning round to see who it was, she already knew.

"Since when do you have to ask?" she heard the slight patter of bare feet as Natalie walked up to sit beside her, dipping her feet into the cold waters.

"We didn't have much time to say hello before people started to shoot at us. How have you been?"

"Life's been good, some day's bad others, not so bad." Ziva said with a smile "Can't complain"

Natalie nodded her head.

"I didn't believe the rumors when they said you had become an American agent. But not I see they are all true…I never would have thought you would have given up the action for a desk."

"I get a lot of action, and I hate desk duty, Mossod no longer had a place for me Natalie, neither did my father. I found family"

"As long as your happy Z, I don't care. Just...Don't you miss the good old days?"

Ziva smiled and nodded her head slightly, but did not say anything. For a while they just sat there, watching as the sun set, it was dark before someone spoke again, a male voice from behind them. Ziva looked over her shoulder towards the man that called her name, noticing he held a radio in his hand.

"Talk at dinner."

Natalie nodded and watched as Ziva disappeared into a hut. She looked out over the lake again, seeing the outline of a small creature on the other side of the river bed, she watched as it slithered into the water and disappeared.

"You rely have her fooled, don't you." A voice said from behind her, Tony walked down from a path and sat next to her. She watched him with weary eyes.

"And who is it that I have fooled Mr. DiNozzo." She asked with a seductive smile.

"Ziva…does she know you're the traitor?" He asked, Natalie's eyes widened.

"How dare you accuse me of being a traitor. What would make you think of such a thing?"

Tony held a small back device up and twirled it in his fingers. "This"

Natalie spied the device and sighed. "It is not what you think Mr. DiNozzo"

"Then please, explain"

"I got into a bit a trouble last year, money trouble. I may have taken on a few side contracts to pay my way."

"You're a mercenary." Tony eyes narrowed.

"In a way yes. My contact is big in the drug business, she wants me to get rid of her competition, and she pays me good money-"

"Blood money."

"Yes but still money, Mr. DiNozzo. Money I cannot afford to pass up." Natalie sighed and rubbed at her neck. "Please, do not tell Ziva I had no other choice"

DiNozzo stared at her for a second than sighed and slipped the device into his back pocket.

"Fine, but if I find out your lying to me I am bring this right to the boss man and Ziva, let them deal with you." Natalie nodded gratefully. "Not lets go. I'm Hungry"

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW** HOPE YOU ENJOYED


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, sorry i have not published in a while but i have been busy with Uni applications and all that jazz, anyway I am writing the next chapter today, so should be up by tonight or tomorrow night, hopefully, there wont be to long a wait for chapters now. **

_Enjoy please read and review_

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><p><em>She hid from them, her body half covered in mud and the rest of her covered by the darkness. The rain came down in blankets, the occasional explosion of thunder and flash of lighting making it hard to see through the haze. <em>

_She had been running from them for what seemed like days, when in reality, it had been a few hours. A few hours since the attack, a few hours since losing her best friend and a few hours since she was the only one left. _

_They had always been just a few paces behind her, no matter how fast she ran, what direction, the traps she lay to slow them down, they kept coming, like predators, always tracking her, always just one step behind. _

_Her body was frozen from the rain, her cloths stuck to her uncomfortably and her teeth chattered, her hands were numb, her finger barely able to move as she rested it on the trigger. _

_It was difficult to hear the marching feet over the thunderstorm but her almost bionic hearing picked up an unusual noise just to the side of her. She listened carefully, drowning out the sound of the rain, she closed her eyes, counted to five and as soon as the sound was almost right in front her, than pounced._

_x_

Ziva woke from a fitful slumber, her head and back aching from the uncomfortable bed that she lay on. Rising into a sitting position she swung her legs over the side of the bed, hissing slightly as a pain ran through her leg.

Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose she got slowly to her feet, ignoring the snores of Tony in the other makeshift bed, she smiled slightly and opened the door, bright light streaming in as she did so.

The sun burnt her eyes as she walked through the door, she squinted slightly as the door to the shack closed shut behind her, a cool breeze blew her hair from her face and she surveyed the rest of the village with dark eyes.

Seeing Gibbs on the radio at the other end of the village, she started towards him, a sharp pain shooting up her injured leg, as she got closer to Gibbs, she saw his worried expression, the creasing of his brow and slight twitching of his lip, the sad look in his ice blue eyes and tensing. Ziva waited patiently for him to finish his conversation before asking what was wrong.

"Was that about my father?" Gibbs nodded. "And?"

"Still no news" Gibbs said with a frown. "Vance wants me to meet him and Harder in the embassy; I want you to continue looking into what happened at the base, that and your father going missing can't be a coincidence."

Ziva sighed and her eyes dropped to stare at her feet. She nodded her head, remaining silent. Gibbs lifted his hand and grabbed her chin gently, lifting her face to look at him.

"We are going to find your father Ziva, but right now i need your head in the game, i need you to lead the team on this mission"

Ziva nodded.

"There is another thing." Gibbs said. "The pilot they found in the helicopter crash was so badly burnt that the people who found him just assumed that it was the pilot, the DNA didn't match. The whole thing was staged"

"Staged?"

"According to Abby's working, the helicopter landed before it was destroyed, if it had been shot out from the sky, there would be more damage and no one would have survived."

"If that is true than why did harder not say anything? He was only injured, why not kill him?"

Gibbs silence was the only answer she needed.

"Vance and I are going to have a chat with him, right now i need you to get moving, we have stayed in this village long enough and we have a mission to do, we don't want the trail to go cold."

"So the scene of the crash would be a good place to start."

Gibbs nodded again,

"Get the team together and get your asses out there. The sooner we get out of this place the better." Gibbs suddenly slapped the back of his neck, looked at his hand, than wiped it on his trousers.

"The bugs are getting on my nerves." He said with a ghost of a smile. Ziva smirked slightly than turned on her heel and walked towards the small shack she had just came from, she frowned as she spotted Natalie diapering into the bushes.

x

It was dark, so dark he could barely anything, other than the outlines of furniture that was illuminated slightly by the light peeping under the door. There was a dripping of water somewhere to his left, a constant tap, tap, tap of water hitting metal.

His hands were tight and there was an odd tingling in his leg, his head felt heavy and his body felt weak. From the sounds outside, he could tell he was not alone, the faint drone of voices accompanied by the hum of car engines.

He sniffed, than sneezed quietly; dust filling his nostrils and making his nose cannel tickle and burn. He tried moving but upon doing say gritted his teeth as a stinging pain shot up his leg, travailing up his back and rested in the base of his neck.

The sudden sound of footsteps made him freeze, his dull eyes moving towards the door and resting there. He heard the door handle screech as it turned, a bright blinding light flooded the room and a large man strolled in, his frame just a dark shadow due to the direction of the sun rays.

"Good afternoon Director David" he said, Eli's eyes widened slightly, his keen ears finding a familiar tone in the man's voice.

"Long time no see." The man said as he stepped into the light, Eli saw his face and his own expression morphed from confusion into fear and shock. "Brother."

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><p><strong>Hope you guys enjoyed... didn't see that coming did you? lol <strong>

**PS: REVIEWS make me happy :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey Guys, Told you it would be up soon. hope you enjoy, thanks to all that reviewed the last few chapter but didn't actuly get any reviews for the last one :( it anyone still reading this fic?**

**Please leave a review, they make me happy :)**

Disclaimer - Dont own anything

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><p>Tony slapped his neck to kill yet another bug. Rubbing his skin raw from where he had yet again been bitten. He sighed and scratched his neck with dirty fingernails; they had been feasting on him even more since leaving the village to a point where his neck was a rainbow of pink, purple and red little bumps. The annoying buzz of another insect made him swat his ear with a grunt.<p>

After he was sure there were no more insects floating above his head, he passed a hand through his hair, feeling the sweat from the midday sun drench his hand and he sighed.

"How much further Z, my feet are getting tired and I am starting to get hungry."

"Your feet hurt and you were hungry five minutes ago" Natalie said from beside Ziva, was leading the team along a narrow overgrown pathway.

"And five minutes before that" Si'ed said with a small smile. Tony frowned slightly, fumbling over a moss covered rock.

"Well i am sorry i can't be as mucho as the twins back there." Tony said pointing to the Hogan brothers behind him "Or the hunting dogs in front." he said, indicating Natalie and Ziva.

"How far this place is anyway, we have been working for hours!" Tony said, Ziva looked at her watch and rolled her eyes.

"It's been forty five minutes Tony."

The others chuckled slightly at Ziva's comment; Tony narrowed his eyes playfully in his partner's direction. Swapping his bag to the other shoulder, he moved his attention to the floor, stepping over concealed rocks and vines that pocked out dangerously.

He was momentarily stunned when his body met another; Si'ed had suddenly stopped, causing Tony to walk into him.

"What the..." Tony looked up, his eyes widening and mouth slightly agape as his gaze moved passed Saied's shoulder and to the vision of destruction before him. The helicopter that Eli David had left it now lay in pieces, scattered across the jungle floor, the tail of the helicopter lay in two pieces, blackened and burnt beyond recondition. The landing skids were still attracted to the helicopter, but so deep were they embedded into the muddy ground they were hardly visible beneath the massive burnt body of the actual helicopter. The tail rotor of the carrier was embedded in the far tree that was bald of its foliage and the main rotor blade lay on its side, almost snapped in two from the force of the apparent crash.

"Wow..."

"Let's get started." Ziva said after a few minutes of silence, Tony looked at her strangely.

"On what..."

"For clues Tony, what else."

"What exactly are we looking for."

"Think Tony...look up what do you see?"

Tony looked up, frowned than looked at Ziva.

"Sky and trees." He answered innocently. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Exactly, if the helicopter was shot down, there would a disturbance to the top of the trees, the helicopter is still smoking slightly, which means there would be at least a little bit of a trail in the sky where it was shot down." Ziva turned to face him, her eyes narrowing and turning dark.

"Ok, so the helicopter landed before it was blown up?" Tony asked and dropped his back by his feet.

Ziva sighed and turned towards the crashed helicopter once again.

"You think Tony!" she spat at him, DiNozzo frowned but said nothing.

"There has been no camp sighted within five miles either way from this spot on any satellite feeds from here." Natalie said as she pulled out a small bulky computer, it beeped as she skimmed through the photos. "If your father was taken, he would have put up a fight, they would not risk walking through the forest back to camp with such a high profile target." She continued. "They must have had some kind of vehicle to move him"

Ziva nodded slowly as she listened to Natalie speak.

"There was no rain last night, which is when we heard about the directors disappearance, there will still be evidence of tracks if any. All we have to do is follow them."

"Start looking." Ziva ordered her team.

"What for exactly Ma'am." One of the Hogan brothers asked.

"Anything. Now shut up and start looking!"

Xxxx

It had taken a while till anyone found any clues that pointed towards a vehicle or another person around the crash site, and when they found what they did, no matter how small it was, they were pointed in the direction that went deeper and deeper into the red Zone territory.

Tire tracks, faint in the soil of the forest floor but still a sign that someone had been there recently and had left in a hurry.

The sun had long since gone down and the team sat around a small fire, the noise of the jungle around them as they all sat in silence. Empty silver food wrappers were stuffed into a bag and hung a few feet away on a tree, ready for collection in the morning before they set off.

The crackle of the fire was almost soothing to the others, but to Tony it was to quiet. "So, anyone want to play a game?"

He was met with silence.

"Ok, I will go first. Ziva Truth or dare?"

"No one wants to play your stupid games Tony" Ziva snapped, looking up from the fire to glare at her partner. Tony creased his brow, getting a little sick of Ziva's attitude.

"Have I done something to piss you off Ziva, because it sure feels like it." He asked suddenly, Ziva sighed.

"No Tony, not everything is about you, no matter what you may believe."

"Then where is this attitude of yours coming from!"

"I don't have an attitude DiNozzo!"

Natalie stood up suddenly "Can you two stop arguing with each other for five minutes...you are acting like children. We need to figure out what we are gonna do tomorrow. We are in the middle of the Congo, we have no idea where we are going and what we are going to find so shut the hell up!"

Tony and Ziva stopped and looked up at her, Ziva bit her bottom lip in anger. Natalie sat down again, her head fell into her hands.

"I knew we should have had someone else fly that chopper. CheKato had been acting real strange lately."

"CheKato?" Ziva asked as she continued to look in to the fire.

"The pilot, his name comes from an old tribe in the area. His grandmother was part of it."

"Wait a minute; the pilot was a native here!" Tony asked suddenly.

"That is right." Si'ed interjected.

"So he wasn't part of the military personal on the base?"

"No, he was a civilian who dealt with transportation; he knows the area around the base for miles"

Tony scratched his head. "It would have been nice to know that."

"What are you getting at Tony?" Ziva asked impatiently.

"Think about it, the pilot landed the helicopter in a place that was still miles from the city, he still had a full tank of gas and there was no communication or evidence of any problems. Why did he land?" Tony asked, he was standing now, pacing round as he spoke. "Maybe he was in on it. Find the pilot, Find your father. "

"What would the pilot possibly gain from handing Director David too the people who took him" the firelight lighting her face with an orange glow.

"Lots of things" Ziva said quietly, staring in to the fire, the orange glow making her skin seem flawless. "Money, Drugs, Safety, a way out of the country, the rebels and drug peddles own over thirty percent of this country; they are capable of giving anyone anything they wanted for a price."

Ziva sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"I knew i should not have let my father come. He has not been out of Israel for years and when he finely does come out he is kidnapped. I should have been with him"

"There is no time to blame yourself right now Ziva, we need to find that pilot."

It was silent for a while, than tony clicked his fingers, a suddenly spark of an idea in his head.

"That's where the boss comes in."

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed this readers, please leave a review and i will add another chapter soon. <strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Long time, no read or write! I have been so busy with university that I will not be surprised if you all have forgotten about the story. Hopefully you have not, and I will have a few nice reviews coming my way. I have just found my missing muse!**

**Also, I have gotten my own original book published!**

**Also, a big thanks to my editor (Beta Reader) loveofallthingsmusic, who has been a great help with my spelling and grammar.**

**Please read and review my FanFic also!**

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><p>Mexico City – Israeli Embassy<p>

Hadar sat uncomfortably in the cold steel chair that resided in the embassy interrogation room, his arm resting in a navy blue sling and his left cheek covered by a large white plaster. To say he was restless would be an understatement. As every hour passed, he would either pace or shout at the people he knew watched him from behind the observation glass.

He could not remember much from the incident. All he could recall was feeling the helicopter land, loud shouts outside, the helicopter door opening, then a chunk of wood and metal smashing down on his head.

He needed to know where the director was. He was not only afraid for his boss's life, but for his own. Ziva never made empty threats. His thoughts were interrupted when the door swung open, and Gibbs walked in, slamming it shut behind him.

"Sit down," Gibbs ordered in his usual manner. Hadar said nothing and followed the order he had been given.

"Tell me everything."

"I have told you everything, all that I remember anyways!"

"I don't believe you."

"Why are you in here? You should be looking for the Director! " Hadar shouted. He had never been one to control his temper. Gibbs watched him with icy-blue eyes.

"Then tell me why you did not defend him."

"It is hard to defend a man when you are unconscious, Agent Gibbs, and when you are outnumbered six to one! "

There was a long silence. "So you do remember something?" Hadar remained silent.

"Tell me, exactly what you saw."

Hadar sat down again, rubbing his neck. "When I saw the helicopter was going to land I turned to the pilot and asked him why we were landing. He merely said he needed to piss. I thought nothing of it, the pilot got out and disappeared into the woods. I opened the door of the helicopter, and I was hit round the head with something hard...before I blacked out I saw at least six heavily armed men come out of the trees. They were dressed as rebels, but their armour looked..." the Israeli stopped and thought for a moment.

"What did it look like, Officer Hadar?"

"It was British."

"The people that attacked you were British?" Gibbs asked with a frown.

Hadar shook his head. "No, they were rebels, but they were wearing British armour."

Gibbs eyes narrowed as he thought about what he had just been told. "What about the pilot?"

Hadar cracked a smile. "I don't trust anyone new, Agent Gibbs. I put a small tracking device in his sleeve when I shook his hand. The device that goes with it is in my jacket pocket."

Gibbs grunted and rose from his seat, making his way towards the door. "Stay here," he said and slammed the door as he left.

Hadar snorted. "Like I have a choice."

x

Sie'ed rubbed his neck as he followed closely behind Tony, his feet aching from the amount of walking they had already done. The sun had only come up three hours ago, but they had already covered ten miles of dense forest, almost having an unfortunate run in with group of gorillas.

Ever since the team had received the location of the pilot, Ziva wasted no time getting the team up and heading towards the location. They had even missed breakfast. Sie'ed felt his stomach rumble and rubbed it with a groan.

The team was silent, nothing but the crunching of leaves beneath their heavy boots, and the sympathy of birds singing around them.

"How much further is this place?" Tony whispered in Ziva's ear. The ex-Mossad officer looked down at the device that flashed in her hand.

The forest around them was dense, and giant trees reached towards the sky. Thick vines hung down from them like long curled fingers, grabbing at Tony, Ziva and the rest of the team. Long blades of grass hid sharp shrubs that were filled with purple berries, and the path they walked on was worn and overgrown.

"It's just over this ridge," Ziva said back to him, pointing to the overgrown, hanging trees that blocked a small opening in the forest. Ziva reached her hand towards the hanging branches and moved them aside. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted a small cabin situated right in the middle of a dark, dense glade, sitting right in front of a tall rock face. The trees blocked most of the sun from breaking through. The darkness seemed alien and ghostly.

"I want the pilot alive. Drake, Collin go around the back. Sie'ed, Tony, this is the only way out, block it. If he runs at you, do anything you can to stop him...Nat, you're with me."

Natalie and Ziva smiled knowingly at each other.

"Go!" Ziva said to the team. The Hogan brothers and Nat and Ziva rushed off, their feet not making a sound as they hurried off in what looked like synchronized movements.

He watched as the Hogan brothers rushed to the back of the house, their guns drawn in front of them. He moved his eyes to focus on Ziva and Nat as they made their way to the front door, sliding expertly to either side and lifting their guns in the watched as they smirked at each other and nodded, turning in unison and throwing what looked like a grenade through the window. A bright flash and a loud bang quickly followed, then white smoke filtered out the windows. Nat pulled a green scarf over her nose, as did Ziva, then quickly spun and kicked open the door. Natalie moved in first, then Ziva, their guns drawn in front of them.

Ziva searched the house with keen eyes, her dark brown orbs taking in every object, every shadow and every movement within the dark confines of the cabin. She and Nat looked at each other. Ziva motioned towards the arched doorway at the end of the cabin, and Natalie nodded as she moved towards it.

It was not until she reached the door that it burst open. The hard, wood door knocked Natalie off her feet and to the floor. A large, dark figure stumbled out of the room and ran towards Ziva. Letting her gun fall to her side, Ziva unclipped her knife and promptly dug it in to the figures leg. Hearing a grunt as he fell to the floor, she reached down and grabbed the man's collar, dragging him towards the door leading outside.

Nathalie watched her disappear and olled her eyes, still trying to catch her breath,

"That's fine Zi, I'm good..don't worry about me." she said to herself, as she struggled to her feet.

x

Ziva strode through the door, dragging the man that struggled violently behind her. His efforts were pointless, Ziva's freakishly strong grip held onto his collar like a vice.

"Let go of me, woman!" he cried. Ziva retaliated by throwing him to the floor in front of her, then pointing her gun towards his head.

"I am going to ask you only two questions. You are going to answer me. Get it?"

The man looked up at her with a bloody nose.

"Where is my father, and who was behind the attack on the base?!" she said, getting straight to the point.

"I will never tell you," he said, spitting blood from his mouth onto the floor by Ziva's feet. Moving her weapon from the man's head, she pointed just above his knee.

"I will not ask again." Ziva's face was stern and hard. The man swallowed hard, looking from her to the gun, then from the gun and back to Ziva.

"You will not do it. You are not like that."

Ziva's finger twitched on the trigger. The man's agonized scream pierced the air. As he clutched his knee, Ziva could feel her team's eyes on her. She could feel Tony watching her, even from his far away position.

"My father?" she asked again, calmly, but her voice still held a hint of a threat to it.

"You crazy bitch!" The man cried, still clutching his knee. "You shot me, you fucking shot me!"

"If you do not answer me in three seconds, I will put a bullet in your other knee cap. Now answer my question!"

"He's in the Red Zone!" The pilot shouted, tears streaming down his dirty face. "10 miles east of here, there is a camp. You can't miss it!"

"And the attack on the base?"

"I don't know anything about the attack. I was paid a lot of money to sell some security codes. That's all!"

"Sell them to whom?" Natalie asked from behind Ziva. The pilot shook his head.

"I don't know any names. They referred to him as The Man in White...that's all I know, I swear!" Natalie's face went white when she heard this. She took a step back, her shoulders hunching ever so slightly.

Ziva smiled and bent down to the man's level, grabbing his chin between two fingers and lifting his head to face her.

"Now that was not too hard, was it?" she said. "If I find you are lying to me, I will hunt you down and cripple both your legs. Understand?"

The man nodded, biting his lip and still clutching his knee.

"Good."

Getting to her feet Ziva holstered her weapon and turned to her team, ignoring their stares. Her own gaze fell on to her friend, whose skin was still sheet white. The former Israeli frowned.

"Let's go."

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><p><strong>Right, well that's the next chapter, keep looking back for updates, they may be far and few between as i am getting ready to go to university on the 14th, and I am usy trying to get my other fan fiction (These Sins of Mine) finished before season premier. Hope you enjoyed. Please review, they make me happy :) <strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, it's up! After hundreds of years it up...well more like half a year, or maybe more, who knows how long my stupid muse had on her little unscheduled vacation_ to which I had no prior knowledge about! _**

**_Hope you enjoy this chapter, I know its not long, but..oh well. _**

**_Please leave a review. _**

**_Enjoy! _**

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><p><em>Ziva raced through the dense undergrowth. Her heart beating so fast in her chest, she could feel it smash against her ribcage. Her hair was a mess, her legs were burning, but all she could think about was getting to the end of her mission. <em>

_The trees around her seemed like they were trying to grab her, the black oozing branches reaching towards her like skeletal arms. There were voices around her, some she recognized, others, she didn't. They screamed around her making, her head throb and burn. Suddenly the trees fell away, disintegrating into the ground that held them, the sky that was once a perfect pastel blue; now a dark blood red._

_Looking around her, she was surrounded by masked men with guns, forming a perfect circle and trapping her in, a prison of bone and flesh. _

_Right in front of her, kneeling with his hands bound and his face dirty and bloody, was Eli._

_"Abba" She called to him, but her voice seemed distorted and almost childlike. _

_A man dressed in white suddenly appeared behind her father, a gun held tightly in his left hand. He spoke to her, but his words were garbled. Ziva looked at him, shocked to discover he had no face. He lifted the gun to her father's head, and pulled the trigger. _

Ziva shot up with a start, a scream catching in her throat as a burning pain shot through her injured leg. It was dark, the light from the fire barely illuminating the surrounding area. The rest of the team lay sleeping, a soft snore coming from where Tony currently lay sprawled on the forest floor. Ziva rubbed her eyes, than rubbed her throbbing leg.

Getting to her feet she stretched her arms up and reached towards the sky, hearing a click as she stretched out her back. She then rolled her neck from side to side, momentarily satisfied as it clicked.

Then she relaxed, sinking deep into the soft soil, feeling the waxy leaves against the rough skin of her palm.

For a long moment, she just sat there, listening to the sounds of the jungle nightlife, the rustle of the leaves, the strange sounds of the animals and the sound of running water nearby.

"Could not sleep?" A soft female voice spoke to her, bringing her out of her thoughts, Ziva looked across the fire to see Nat gazing at her, the orange light dancing across her face.

"No." Ziva said, shaking her head.

"Bad dream?"

"Yes."

"Want to talk."

"No"

"Good, because you know I am not good at the touchy feely stuff."

Ziva smiled at her friend's blunt response.

"Thanks."

The two women laughed together, much like they did when they were young women in their first years in the IDF. Ziva rubbed her leg again, her wound and the surrounding area around it seeming to sting more and more each day.

"Is your leg still sore?" asked Nat with a worried expression, getting up from her sitting position and moving to Ziva's side, and reached towards the bandage that covered Ziva's wounded leg. As she pulled the bandage back, Natalie gasped as a yellow oozing sore met her eyes. The gash in her leg was red and crusted; the surrounding area a mixture of black and green.

"God Ziva!" Natalie shouted, being careful not to wake anyone else up. "This is infected. How could you let this wound get like this?"

"We have been kind of busy"

"That's no excuse, how do you expect to save your father if I have to amputate your leg?"

"Oh Nat, you were always so dramatic." Ziva said, placing the back of her hand mockingly to her head and pretending to faint.

"I am not joking Ziva!" Natalie said, an angry expression crossing her features.

Ziva smiled cheekily, putting both her hands up defensively.

"Ok, I am sorry"

Natalie shook her head at her friend's obvious disregard for her own wellbeing.

"Ok, I will get some water from the river and boil, it to clean the wound. We have to dress it again. You look in the med kit and see if we have any antiseptic and bandages."

Natalie got to her feet hastily, than started towards the river. Ziva watched her go with a confused expression.

'Since when does she get so worried' Ziva thought to herself, 'In the old days, she would take a heated knife to the wound and be done with it.'

Confused, Ziva reached towards the large duffel bag and searched for the med kit.

Xx

Natalie tread carefully on the soft ground of the Congo floor. An almost silent hissing somewhere near her feet, telling her there was a snake somewhere beneath the dark depths of the almost black ground.

There was a rustle of leaves and the sound of strange birds above her, to her right was the sound of running water and the noises of animals that seemed demonic and evil occasionally made her heart skip a beat every time she heard them.

When she was with the IDF, she had hated the missions that involved trekking through the jungle. She hated the bugs; she hated the heat and most of all, she hated how everything in the jungle could kill you within a blink of an eye. But then again, she was never really an animal person.

She rubbed her neck and grunted with annoyance, an itchy insect bite seeming to just appear out of nowhere, ducking under a branch and making her way through some strange looking plants and bushes, she knelt down by the river, surveying the almost calm water for any predators that could drag her in into the murky depths, causing her to meet a vicious and unfortunate demise.

Natalie dipped a flask into the water and filled it up, scooping some water up with her free hand and splashing it on her face. She really did hate the jungle heat.

She was half way back to the camp when something stopped dead in her tracks, the feeling of being watched so overwhelming and sudden. Her hand went to her hip as she surveyed her surroundings carefully.

A twig snapped somewhere to the left of her, than a rustle to her right made her spin. Natalie bit her lips that had suddenly become very dry, the darkness closing in on her as she listened hard to where the sounds originated from.

As she took a step back, the back of her boot snapped a large stick, resulting in a loud and almost defining crack, the birds in the trees above her erupted from the branches like a massive explosion, making Natalie jumped and look up into the sky.

It was then that a strong pair of arms grabbed her and a black sack was forced over her head.

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><p><strong>Dun Dun Dun, Did not see that coming, did you ? Or maybe you did. Whatever. If you enjoyed it please leave a review, If you did not enjoy it, leave a review anyway :P<strong>

**Next chapter will be soon, hopefully.**


	11. Chapter 11

Hey! Long time no read! Sorry i have been so long before updating, I have been super busy with auditions, University and writing my own original novel as well as filming my first ever short film! But here it is, the next chapter to Serpents Lair. Hope you enjoy it. I have tried to do the last few chapters without my beta the lovely** (loveofallmusicalthings)** so i hope it's alright grammar wise. Enjoy and please, tell me what you think.

An update, especially for **shereneashley**

R&R!

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><p>She had awoken to the sunlight, a dull throb in her leg made her thigh tingle, In-fact her entire leg felt as if it were vibrating. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the sun, but when they did, she saw both the Hogan brothers and Tony sitting by the fire, each of them with a cup of powdered coffee from their packs and some fruit. Her head was pounding as she slowly forced herself into a sitting position, moaning as her leg groaned in protest.<p>

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tony turn his head to look at her, a dopey smile on his face.

"Well good morning sleepy head" he greeted her with his usual charm. She shook her head, her vision blurry. She had not even remembered going back to sleep after she talked to Nat.

"What time is it?"

"07:00" One of the Hogan brothers spoke up, taking a loud bite of his apple and gulping down the remains of his 'coffee'.

"Where is Si'ed?" Ziva asked, rubbing her temples. Tony finished the last of his own fruit before he answered her.

"He went off to pick some more fruit."

"And Nat?"

The brothers and Tony looked at each other, than back at Ziva.

"She was not here when we woke up. Her pack was still here, we thought she just went off to find something to eat. Si'eed told us that she did not like being in one place for too long." Tony said.

"Yeah, and that she was no fan of fruit." The youngest of the Hogan brothers spoke up

Ziva looked at the three men, her brow furrowed and lips thinned.

"And you only chose now to tell me!" She got to her feet, ignoring the pain in her leg and throbbing ache that surged through her body, every muscle feeling as if it were on fire.

"Why are you getting so worried Ziva. She will be back."

""She left last night to go get some water from the river. I guess I must have fallen asleep shortly after she left, if she did not come back than maybe something happened to her!"

They were all silent, Ziva started towards the dark undergrowth, where she remembers Natalie had gone the night before. Tony sighed and started to follow her, leaving the two brothers behind, confused.

"Ziva!" Tony called after her, they were a good few meters away from the camp when she finely stopped, spinning round to glare at him.

"What Tony!"

Tony raised his hands defensively; he was starting to get angry with her attitude.

"Nat can take care of herself, she is probably fine."

"Probably fine...!" Ziva's voice took on the tone of a scorning mother. "She has been missing all night DiNozzo!" Ziva said, then spun around again and started towards the sound of runing water. Tony bit his lip and clenched his left hand tightly into a fist. He followed Ziva closely, silence between the both of them. He stopped, looking at the former Israeli as she stood there, her dark eyes surveying her surroundings.

"What are you looking for?"

Ziva ignored him, her eyes squinting as she glanced over the muddy banks of the small stream. Tony watched her expression change as she sped off towards the water, slowly kneeling down and digging something out of the dirt. It was not until he was standing next to her that he noticed it was a flask.

Ziva sighed and thought for a moment, then clipped the empty flask to her belt.

"This cannot be a coincidence." Tony smiled slightly at her words, than screwed his face up, his voice deep and throaty.

"In the words of the all mighty Leroy Jethroy Gibbs...I don't believe in coincidences." Tony's smile only grew larger, obviously impressed with his imitation. Ziva got to her feet, glared at him, then set off again towards the camp.

Tony heaved a heavy sigh, then followed her.

Neither of them saw the large bald man wearing camouflage that watched them from the other side of the stream, crouched behind a bush of messy leaves.

She could not breathe properly, every time she took a breath, a foul smell invaded her nostrils, making her sinuses burn and stomach turn. It was dark; the itchy black sack that had been placed over her head was fastened tightly around her neck, just loose enough so she was still able to breathe.

Strong arms held her arms, pushing her forward through what she thought was the forest, vines and falling branches taking every opportunity to trip her up, if it were not for the men that held on to her forearms with bruising grips, she would have fallen flat on her face.

The sun was hot on her skin that was viable, her legs were tired from walking and the smell that clung to her nostrils was making her sick.

She had been dragged for another few minutes, the bag on her head suddenly becoming darker, the air became cooler and her boots were no longer touching the soft ground of the forest floor, but rather, a hard concrete surface.

Within seconds the bag was pulled from her head, her messy hair standing up at all ends. She looked around her, panicked. It was not until she saw the blond women sitting behind a desk, her legs crossed and hands clasped that she knew where she was.

She smiled and got to her feet, her knee length skirt showing off a spectacular pair of legs.

"You disappoint me, Natalie." She said. Her British accent would have been sexy; if she was not such a psychotic bitch.

"I asked you to bring the daughter. What do you do; you lead her right to the pilot and right to us"

Natalie swallowed hard before she answered.

"She was getting suspicions." The Israeli said. Her face red.

"You compromised us."

"I would not have been able to stop her, even if I tried. You took her father, the two of them may not be very close but when you mess with Ziva's family she takes it very personally. There is no stopping her" Nat took a breath, than continued. "I mean for god sake, when she found out who killed her sister she hunted them for months... she killed them...rather questionably." She added.

"Well" said the blond British women. "Let us see how she deals with an army. There is no doubt that she will come and find you. She is not stupid, she will figure out soon that her Fathers kidnapping and your sudden disappearance is not a coincidence." The women smiled, looking at Nat for a reaction. "And when she finds us, we will kill her friends, and then, then, the plan can go ahead."

"That was not the plan!" Natalie shouted, surging forward. She was hauled back by the two burly men. She had almost forgotten that they were there. She took a deep breath, looking at the other women with pleading eyes. "You promised no one would get hurt."

"The plan has changed." The women smiled once again, her lips parting so Natalie could see a perfect row of white teeth. She turned on her heel, her high heeled shoes clicking on the concrete floor as she made her way back to her desk.

"Take our new visitor away, make her comfy. We should be having visitors soon."

And with that, Natalie was dragged away by the two large men, her feet indenting the dirt as she fought against them, she wanted nothing more than to wrap her hands around that awful women's neck, watching as the life drained from her already cold eyes.

The women picked up a cup of tea with three slender fingers and sipped it. A gleeful chuckle, escaping her lips.

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><p>There we are, don't you just love the British as the evil guys, the make such good baddies! I shall update soon i hope, but the Uni work is piling up.<p>

Hope you enjoyed it!

R&R


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